Gas spring assemblies are used to control movement of one component relative to another component. In one example, a gas spring assembly is used to control movement of a vehicle body panel, such as a liftgate or trunk cover, relative to a vehicle body member. The gas spring assembly is moveable between a fully extended position and a fully compressed position, and sometimes includes at least one intermediate stop position.
The intermediate stop position is set at a position that is usually midway between the fully extended and fully compressed positions. One disadvantage with current gas spring designs is that the intermediate stop position is set at a specific location by a manufacturer during an initial design phase, and cannot be subsequently adjusted to other locations. This is disadvantageous because an end user cannot set the intermediate stop position at a desired location. The intermediate stop position selected by manufacturer may be too high for shorter end users or too low for taller end users.
Thus, there is a need for a gas spring assembly that includes an adjuster mechanism that allows an end user to selectively adjust the position of the intermediate stop position.